Kevin's R&R

As most of you probably know by now, Kevin was able to join us for two weeks in December!  It was a very last minute decision, and we kept it on the down low because he wanted to surprise his extended family at their annual Christmas party.

I surprised Kevin at the gate as he was getting off the plane and barely made it in time.  People were already getting off of the plane as I rushed through security, but luckily he was one of the last ones off.

It was EXTREMELY hard for me to keep this secret because I am so close with many of his family members, but I was able to hold it together somehow!  It was especially difficult because we decided to book a last minute trip to Disney World for five days the week before Christmas.  Between the end of the school semester, planning the trip, prepping the house, doing all of the Christmas shopping, wrapping and decorating as well as juggling Kerriann alone, I was slightly stressed!

But if you know me, you know I love to be busy, and I wouldn't have wanted this holiday season to go any other way.  I can't even put into words how amazing it was to have Kevin home for two weeks.  He arrived on December 16th (he was supposed to get in on the 15th but was delayed) and left on New Years Day.  We decided on this time frame even though it was so early in the deployment because it was the only time we were guaranteed that I would be off from school.  We could have requested for him to come back during my spring break, but it happened to fall almost mid way through the deployment and he knew that everyone else was planning to request at that time as well.  Even if he had been approved, I would have most likely been right in the midst of midterms during his visit.  I am so glad that he was able to spend the past two weeks with us. It was nice having him here for both holidays, even though we took it easy on New Years Eve since we had to leave for the airport at 6am.

I have so many pictures and videos to share.  I'm hoping to get most of them up this week before I go back to school on the 9th.

It's been a day and a half since we dropped Kevin off at the airport and I am still working on getting past the initial shock of being alone again.  This goodbye was just as hard as the first one, but completely different at the same time.  This time, I knew exactly what I was facing, where the first time was uncharted territory.  This time I knew exactly how hard it was going to be going from having him here to being alone, but it's worse in a way.

Now, we are back to the beginning of another countdown, except the first one was only three months and this one could end up being between seven and eight.  And having him home for two weeks was wonderful, but a hard reminder of how much better life is when he's around.  Of course we are hoping and praying that he will be home sooner than planned with all of the changes that are happening overseas, but there is no guarantee.  Just keep our family in your prayers until we are reunited again!

3 Weeks: How We're Doing

It's been three weeks since we said goodbye to Kevin at BWI. That still sounds like such a short period of time, but it feels more comparable to a lifetime at this point.  I can't wait until I'm giving a three month update, rather than a three week one.  Crazy that at that point we'll be well into the holiday season, and I'll be almost finished with my first semester back at school.

I have to say, the weekdays go by pretty fast and don't seem to bother me much.  I drop Kerriann off most mornings and then get started on whatever homework or studying I have due in the near future.  I keep busy all day between school tasks and breaks for cleaning, errands and of course eating.  Factor in all of the travel time between running her to school and back and driving to class, parking, walking to class, etc. and it feels like I still don't have enough time in the day to do everything I should be doing.  After I pick her up from school in the evenings we usually just eat dinner, watch a little TV, take a bath and then I put her to bed.  Nothing too exciting.  I'm not complaining though, I like the routine that we have going now.

The weekends are what seem to be the hardest for me.  Friday I don't have class, but I usually send Kerriann to school anyways so I can study or clean because I'm not able to get much done on Saturday and Sunday while she's home.  She doesn't nap for me, but she usually naps for her teachers at school, go figure ;).

We try to keep busy on the weekends, but that's easier said than done.  I feel like I'd be happier if I just deactivated my Facebook and Twitter accounts Friday-Monday so I don't have to see what everyone else is doing.  My single friends are sleeping in, and staying out late, while my married friends are spending time with their husbands and/or kids.  It's just hard.  And it's not that I'm mad at my friends for having fun, it's just not easy to hear all about the fun everyone else is having from the sidelines.  I hate to get all Debbie-Downer and complain about this, but it's definitely been the hardest part for me so far.

I think I had unrealistic expectations about moving back to West Virginia which is part of the problem.  I wrongly assumed that I would have friends around, all the time, and that just hasn't been the case.  I have seen a few people briefly (which has been great of course and I'm so thankful for those moments), but I miss the way things were when I lived here before.  I always had people stopping by to visit and I had a hard time finding alone time when I wanted it.  Now it is the opposite.  But I know that everyone else is just really busy and most times people are only in town for a short period of time.  I don't blame them for wanting to go out and experience the Morgantown that we all remember from undergrad.  Again, it's just hard feeling like you're the only one stuck at home alone on a Saturday.

This weekend I'm going to make more of an effort to plan activities ahead of time to get us out of the house.  I've been wanting to make a trip to Pittsburgh for a little shopping at the outlets so this might be the perfect time.  Hopefully Kevin won't talk me out of it after seeing my intentions here ;).  Kerriann has  really been going through a major growth spurt lately which means she has outgrown almost everything she owns, including her shoes.  Plus, we need to work on her winter wardrobe as she's officially outgrown all of the clothes that she's received as gifts and hand-me-downs over the past two years.

Sunday we will go to mass again at St. Francis as long as Kerriann is in a decent mood.  Maybe we will start a Sunday brunch ritual for after mass or something.  I need to work on recruiting other Catholics in the area to come with me (cough, cough, Christiane).

I've talked enough about myself, now let's move onto Kerriann.  She has actually been doing really well so far.  She of course still talks about Kevin, but we haven't had any major meltdowns yet due to him being gone.  When we go places she associates with him it can get a little hard (probably more so for me than for her).  Last week when we went to Chick-Fil-A she said "Daddy meet us here" because we used to meet him there for lunch.  At church on Sunday she pointed to the empty spot beside her and said "Daddy's going to sit here."  I just try to explain to her that Kevin is on a long trip for work.  She usually then says "I'm going on a trip too" or something along those lines, but she drops the subject without getting upset which I am so thankful for.

The past few days I've been working on unpacking our framed photos and wall art (finally...I know...) and she has really been enjoying seeing all of our family photos.  She loves pointing to our engagement pictures and saying "That's Mommy and Daddy!"  She's also a big fan of the group shot of both of our families at her baptism.  She can name every single person which I think is huge, especially considering she doesn't see a few of them that often.  This has been a sign to me that I really need to get our walls covered with lots of pictures of Kevin so she can see his face every day.

And that is our "How We're Doing" update for now.  We're definitely doing fine, but it's still not easy.  We're just working on taking this deployment one day at a time.

And we're always accepting visitors, so please stop by if you're in town and have free time!  We'd love to see you and show off our new home! :)

Military Spouse Advice

While browsing Pinterest, I came across a pin linked to a blog post titled Mission Possible: Staying Together While Apart.  Of course this pin peaked my interest so I decided to take a few minutes to read the post.

I am so glad that I did.

If you are a military spouse dealing with separation whether it be due to a deployment or training exercise, I encourage you to read this post by Marshele Carter Waddell.

A few of my favorite pieces of advice from this article include:

• Listening to your song (or favorite songs that hold special meaning to you and your spouse) while writing a letter to your spouse telling them how much they mean to you
• Take time to write not only emails, but hand written letters
• Keep a blog and update daily while your loved one is away to help them feel connected to your daily routine
• Choose a rare naturally occurring event such as spotting a shooting star or a rainbow and let your loved one know that whenever either of you sees one of these, it should serve as a reminder of your love for one another
• And last but not least, plan a couple's getaway for soon after their return... I would love for us to be able to take our honeymoon once this deployment ends!

I know this was a little more sappy than my usual posts, but hopefully those of you who have never had to deal with a long separation will excuse this, and those of you who have/are currently dealing with one will be able to relate and find Waddell's article helpful!

In other news, I forgot to share that last week I received my first handwritten letter from Kevin.  It was a great surprise and I can't wait until we are able to get an address for him and start sending him letters and care packages.  We'll keep family and friends posted whenever we do get contact information for him.

Fall Bucket List

Yesterday while browsing Pinterest during a study break, I stumbled across this cute Fall Bucket List and immediately printed it off and decided to attempt to complete every item before winter arrives.

I know some of them will be a little tricky with Kerriann and with Kevin gone (go on a date?  maybe they mean a mother/daughter date?), but I think with a little dedication I will be able to make this a fall to remember!

I'm not sure exactly what we'll be doing there, but Kerriann's school has their first field trip planned for a trip to Rich's Fright Farm in October.  Many of my friends will know exactly what fright farm is and will be wondering why they would allow children to be taken there... hahahahaha... anyways... before I take a stroll down memory lane... I'm guessing they have pumpkin patches, hay rides, and corn mazes or something like that for daytime, family-friendly activities.  This will be an opportunity for me to cross a few items off of the list in one day!

In other news, today makes TWO WEEKS since Kevin left.  It seems like it's been so much longer than two weeks, but I guess every extremely long countdown has to begin somewhere.

I know I'm just throwing a lot of random thoughts out there at this point, but today was Kerriann's first day that she didn't have all smileys on her report sheet from school.  Each day I get a daily sheet with smiley faces saying how she did in different areas.  Today in "listening" and "using my words" categories she had straight lines instead of smileys drawn in.  She was in a cranky mood this evening when I took her to Chick Fil A for dinner (it was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse night) so I'm guessing she was just having a bad day.  Poor thing.  We were able to Skype with Kevin tonight and she was more quiet than usual.  I hope she will be back to her usual, cheery self by tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday-The Last Supper

9-19-11

Today was a really great day for Kerriann and me.  We started the day with a nice warm bubbly bath for Kerriann, followed by a yummy breakfast and cartoons until it was time for school.  Today was picture day, so we picked out a cute outfit for her to change into later in the day and then headed to school!  She cried when I dropped her off, but it was nothing like the scared "please don't leave me, mommy" cry that I heard from her last week.

After dropping her off, I headed out to take a few pictures for my photojournalism class.  Our assignment, due today, was to take three photos.  A landscape, a cityscape, and a "peoplescape."  For some reason, this assignment was really hard for me.  I did have less time than my classmates because I missed class last week to take Kevin to the airport, but that's really no excuse.  I just wasn't feeling inspired.  I'd much rather take photos of people than random "stuff."  This is the "least pretty" time of year, too if you ask me.  I wish we had had this assignment in a couple of weeks when the leaves are changing!  Anyways, here are a couple of shots that I took of the Sutton bridge while I was searching for cityscape opportunities...

Back to today... after I was done with my photography assignment, I headed to Mon General for a barium swallow test.  If you've never heard of it, it's a test that's usually done to check for acid reflux or GERD.  And yes, it is as disgusting as it sounds.  You have to drink barium, which is a chalky liquid, while they take photos of your insides with you in different positions (standing and laying).  It was a relatively quick procedure, but it was not very pleasant.  The highlight of the testing was the gift card they gave me for a free drink at their hospital cafe when the test was complete.  I chose a wild berry smoothie and soon the taste of barium was long gone. :)

After my appointment, my friend Courtney and her son Logan stopped by for a visit on their way back to Virginia.  It was great catching up with them!  I love hanging out with Courtney because her husband is a Marine so she "gets it."  They've survived deployments and I know that she is going to be a great source of support for me over the next year.

When it was time for Courtney to get back on the road, I went to my Monday afternoon class, and then it was time to pick up Kerriann!  Her teachers said that she did much better today and only cried in the morning.  I was so happy to hear that!  This was the first day that I picked her up and she wasn't crying.  She also seemed to be back to her usual self in the evening.  We spent the night grocery shopping, eating tacos, talking with Grammy and Papa on the phone, and snuggling on the couch and watching Olivia.  We also got to Skype with Daddy for a few minutes before bed.  Her favorite part was giving him "high fives" over and over again.

I can only hope that we will have many more days like today over the course of Kevin's deployment.

Home Is Where the Army Sends Us

This morning while Facebooking around 6am (Kevin's alarm woke me up and Kerriann was still sleeping), I stumbled upon a photo that one of our friends from Ft. Rucker had been tagged in.  It was of a home decor item that said "Home Is Where The Army Sends Us" and listed Ft. Rucker and their current post below it.  I've seen similar signs before, and love the idea, just didn't think one would really work for us since Kevin is National Guard and we aren't required to move every three years like active duty military families.

Seeing this sign got me thinking of all of the places we have been and lived over the past three years.  It made me want to list them out here so I don't forget them someday.  Right now it's all so fresh in my mind, but I know it won't always be like that.  Hopefully we will be able to really settle down somewhere after this deployment, but I never want to forget what our lives were like during this time.

A few days before January 1, 2009, I moved to Baltimore to live with Kevin.  We originally thought we would be there at least until July (and that Kerriann would be born there), but the Army (and God!) had other plans for us.  Soon after I moved there, we found out that Kevin needed to report to Ft. Rucker, Alabama by April 1.  So I quit my amazing internship in the city, we packed up and headed south where we spent the next 19 months.  While we were living in Ft. Rucker we lived in two different houses.  The first was a rental that we found and moved into within two days of arriving, and the second was what I like to call our first "home."  We bought a beautiful house with a pool in the backyard which happened to overlook Shell Field.  We still own and rent this house.

In October of 2010 Kevin completed flight school, ending the chapter of our lives at Ft. Rucker.  It was hard leaving the place where Kerriann was born and where we made all of our memories of her first year, along with all of the friends we had made there, but that's the way Ft. Rucker is.  Everyone is only there for a short period of time.  When we left Ft. Rucker we did some traveling over the holidays to visit family, and then settled in with Kevin's Aunt Patty for a few months until we could figure out what our next move would be.

In February of 2011 we got word that Kevin would be up for his first deployment around the start of the next year.  We decided that the best move for our family would be for him to work with his unit to prepare and forego the civilian job search for the time being.  We moved to a beautiful little condo in Havre de Grace, Maryland.

And that brings us to where we are now.  After learning two weeks ago that Kevin will be deployed much, much sooner, we are gearing up for another move.  And going into this move I know that we will be moving again in another year when he returns.  But hopefully this will be our final move for awhile.  I am so ready to settle down and have a real family life.  I'm really looking forward to Kevin holding a civilian position with regular work hours and actually being able to spend time with Kerriann and me.  The past three years have been crazy, but I know that they have been necessary to get to the place where we want to be as a family.  And if I can just survive one more year I know all of the moves and this crazy on the go lifestyle will have been worth it.

Continue to keep us in your prayers as we pack up our lives here in Maryland and move back to West Virginia, the place where Kevin and I met and officially started this journey!

Deployment News

How do you prepare yourself to say goodbye (or see you soon, as I'd like to think of it) to your best friend, roommate, daughter's father and husband with only about a month's notice?

As of now, I have no clue, but that's what I'll be doing in a few short weeks.  That paired with Kerriann's second birthday party this weekend, a trip to Chicago with my sister next weekend, and then moving our lives to Morgantown before Kevin takes off for his first deployment will be keeping me extremely busy.

I have so many photos and stories to share from our vacation in the Poconos with Kevin's family, and I'll share those (and party pics after this weekend) as soon as I can.

Just pray for our family as we spend these last few weeks together!  And apologies in advance if I'm hard to get ahold of until after he leaves.